Rutuja Bhosale makes first round exit against Deniz Khazaniuk at L&T Mumbai Open

India’s second day at the L&T Mumbai Open started out on a rough note with Rutuja Bhosale crashing out in the first round 6-4 6-3 to Israeli qualifier Deniz Khazaniuk. The Indian, ranked 577th in the world, started out poorly against an opponent who is ranked 303 places above her. Both players dropped multiple service games in the first set but Bhosale’s aggressive forehands often resulted in unforced errors.

After the match, the 21-year-old said the balls getting heavier, was a major factor in her game getting disrupted. “I knew how Deniz plays. She puts a lot of balls back. Once the balls were new, I felt like I was going for my shots but as we played more games, the balls started getting (heavier),” said the wildcard entrant.

While both players were impeded by poor service games, it was Khazaniuk who acclimatised to the conditions quicker and took the first set 6-4 on the back of winning a service game and taking a crucial 5-3 lead around the 30-minute mark.

Bhosale then revealed that as play progressed, she had to resort to slicing the ball on the advice of her coach, Hemant Bendre. But by that time, she was already down 3-0 in the second set. It was around this time that she decided to throw caution to the winds. “It was the second set and I was anyways down 3-0, so I decided to go for it as the pressure was off me. But it’s really different when its 3-4 or when it’s really close.”

The former Asian Junior Champion clawed her way back, winning two games and breaking her opponent to bring some momentum in the second set. But down 5-3, it was always going to be a task and two errors in the final game meant Khazaniuk would go onto take the set 6-3 and progress to the second round.

After the match, Bhosale also talked about a labrum tear that has bothered her over the past couple of years. But a lengthy layoff period following surgery has dissuaded her from going under the knife.

India’s second ranked player, Ankita Raina will play today against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia while first seed Aryna Sabalenka will also take to the centre court.

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